“Fuck that shit!” He threw his pen across the room. “When I call her, she talks to me in that politeI don’t have time for youway, and now she doesn’t want me to come back and help. What’s up with that, McBride?”
“Damned if I know. You want to tell me?”
“No…maybe. Hell if I know,” Ethan sighed. “But I have to tell you, she’s a tough woman to care about.”
There was a few seconds of silence before Jake said, “What the hell went on between you two in Texas? Because every time anyone mentions it, Annabelle just shuts down and all she’ll say is, it went well.”
Well? It went fucking incredible, Ethan thought, but he kept that to himself. “I told you the part about my family. The rest is personal.”
“I got me a beer and a pizza with shitloads of cheese and peppers, boy. Wife’s off with those crazy book club women, so my ears are all yours, if you need to elaborate.”
“Is that crust crispy?” Ethan could feel his mouth watering.
“Damn near cooked to perfection, wouldn’t you say, Buster?”
“I’m having this conversation with you, and the domestic goddess has been there the entire time?” Ethan pinched his nose as he tried to remember what he’d said.
“You sweating there, Number Five?”
“Fuck you, baker boy,” Ethan said, smiling. If anyone could make him laugh, it was Buster Griffin.
“Now, now, no need to get the brim of your Stetson curled, Tex. We’re all friends here.”
“So Cooper’s giving her a hard time?” Ethan said, ignoring Buster in favor of asking the questions that he needed to have answered.
“Yeah, but heroin withdrawal is hard. I’ve seen a few people going through it, and a lot of it depends on the person and how long they’ve been using,” Jake said.
“Never seen a man sweat that much,” Buster said. “Tears me up to see what’s become of the healthy young man who left here. On one hand I want to hug him and on the other, plant my fist in his face for what he’s done to himself and his sister.”
Ethan nodded even though they couldn’t see him. He understood that feeling; he’d been angry too, especially knowing what Annabelle had done for her brother.
“She said something about the money again, Ethan, and how she’d have to work for the rest of her life and then some to pay you back.”
Ethan felt his anger rise again at Jake’s words. “I told her she doesn’t need to worry about it.”
“She has this little thing called pride, you know.” Buster was eating; Ethan could hear him, and he wanted to reach through the phone and take a slice of the pizza for himself. “It makes her irrational… Well, that and the whole woman thing.”
The three men all grunted in acknowledgement of those words.
“It may not even put a dent in your net worth, Tex, but that girl will not settle until the money matter is dealt with, I’m telling you,” Buster said.
“I’ll talk to her when I get back tomorrow, but she’s not selling her house to pay me, and what’s more that debt is not hers, it’s her brother’s.”
“Yeah, I guess you could be right on that front. Maybe you need to point that out to Cooper when you get a chance,” Jake said.
“Maybe I will.”
“Strangely, when I brought up your name with Cooper, he wasn’t happy, so I’m thinking the boy may see you as a threat of some kind. You figure he’s got grounds?” Buster asked.
“You asking about my intentions towards her, Griffin?”
“Yup.” That came from both the men at the other end of the line.
“But before you spill your guts and make us all tear up, remember one thing, Ethan.” Jake’s tone was serious. “You’re our friend too, so this whatever it is between you and Annabelle Smith is not just about her getting hurt, it’s about you both, and ensuring neither of you do.”
“Well, damn, McBride, you should be writing poetry.”
Ethan chuckled as he heard Buster’s words. “I care about her very much,” Ethan said. “So much so that I just took all my little black books out and started a fire with them.”
